Which of the expert recommendations of IPED were implemented in the new Electoral code?

On the 5^th of March, 2014 – the new Electoral code in Bulgaria was enacted after being developed for more than 6 months by the Parliament. Within the framework of this process, the National assembly of Bulgaria initiated wide consultations with civic organizations. The expertise of the Institute for Public Environment Development, as an organization that defends the integrity of the electoral process, was requested on numerous occasions. All expressed positions by the IPED were sent to the Temporary Parliamentary Committee for New Electoral Code. Most of the provided expertise and positions by our organization were reflected in the texts of the new law. Some of the important changes are related to:

 

• Publication of the Methodology for determining the election results, within the texts of the new Electoral Code;

 

• Introduction of new mechanisms for transparency and accountability in the work of the electoral administration:

 

1. -          Meetings of the CEC and DECs will be broadcasted in real time on the Internet. A video-archive of these meetings will also be created on their web-pages;
2. -          Decisions by those bodies will be taken through roll-call vote recorded in the minutes of their meetings;

• Introducing guarantees for nonpartisan monitoring of the electoral process, within the texts of the new Code;

 

• Restoration of the preferential vote as a mechanism, increasing the connection between political parties and citizens;

 

• Ensuring fair conditions for the participants in elections to conduct their campaigns in the media;